Slip-sheeting apparatus.



E. E. BARTLETT.

SLIP SHEETING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I2. 1916. l I 1,288,43, Patented 001;.29,1918.

E. E. BARRETT.

SLIP SHEETING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED rse. 12, 19m

L., Patented ook. 29, 1918.

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E. E. BARTLETT.

SUP SHEETING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. l2. |916A may@ Patented.- Oct. 29, 1918. l

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EDWIN E. BARTLETT, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SLIP-SI-IEETING APPARATUS.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 29, 1918.

Application led February 12, 1916. Serial No. 78,002.

VTo all 'whom t may concern.'

Beit known that I, EDWIN E. BARTLETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Slip-Sheeting Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

In -job printing it is a common practice to place a slip sheet of blank paper between successive printed sheets as they are taken from the press and laid one upon another, in order that the printed sheets may not be smeared or soiled by the fresh ink from the adjacent sheets in the pile. The present invention is intended to provide an apparatus which will automatically lay such slip sheets `one by one on the printed sheets as they are piled .up by the pressman, thereby making it unnecessary to employ an assistant for this purpose, and is characterized by the employment, in combination with a table on which a stack of the slip sheets is supported, of a transferring mechanism which automatically takes the slip sheets one by one from the top of the stack, carries them to a position above another table on which the printed sheets are successively placed by the pressman7 and there deposits each slip sheet in the desired relation to the printed sheets, said transferringmechanism being operated in synchronism with the printing` press in connection with which it is used.

In the embodiment of my invention hereinafter described the table onwhich the stack of printed sheets and interleaved slip sheets is built up` constitutes a structural part of the slip sheeting machine itself, which is so placed with respect to the printing press that said table is located adjacent to the pressman inr convenient position to have the printed sheets laid upon it, but this is not essential, since the transferring mechanism is adapted to deposit the slip sheets in a predetermined position without reference to t-he manner in which the printed sheets are supported. Said transferring mechanism `may be caused to deposit a slip sheet either on each printed sheet or on each alternate printed sheet, as may be desired, by suitably Vproportioningf the driving connections between the two machines. The latter mode of operation is adopted in case the printed sheets are printed on one side onlyl and are placed in the stack one-half face .up and one-half face down, in which case 1t suiices to place a slip sheet between the opposed printed faces only.

In the accompanying' drawings, which illustrate my slip sheeting apparatus as preferably constructed,-

F igure l is a side elevation of the machine, its front being shown at the right in this ligure;

Fig. 2 shows a detail of the driving mechanism hereinafter described;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the machine, the intended location of which is at the left hand side of a printing press, So that the pressman stands at the right of the parts shown in this figure;

Fig. 4 shows another detail of the driving mechanism Fig. 5 is a face view of a cam hereinafter described, showing also a rock shaft oper- Vatedby the cam;

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation on a larger scale, and partly broken away, showing' certain ,parts of the machine which are located between its front and rear ends;

Fig. 7 illustrates a detail hereinafter described; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional plan view of the principal parts located below the stack-supporting tables.

The Workinga parts Of the machine illustrated in the drawings are supported by a frame work comprising` a base plate 2 and various uprights secured thereto and ineluding two hollow pedestals 3 and .4c containingvertical rods 5 and 6 respectively. The rods 5 and 6 carry horizontal plates 7 and 8 at their respective upper ends, of which the plate 7 serves as a table for supporting a stack of slip sheets 9, while the plate 8 receives and supports the stack 10 composed of printed sheets with slip sheets interleaved therewith by the operation of the machine. It is desirable for reasons hereinafter explained to provide for vertical movement of the plates 7 and S as the stacks of sheets carried thereby vary in height, and to this end said rods 5 and 6 are arranged to move vertically within the corresponding pedestals and carry nuts 1l and l2 mounted on externally-threaded portions `of the rods and rotatably supported onthe upper ends of said pedestals, so that by rotating either nut the corresponding' plate can be raised or lowered. Edgewise movement ofthe stacks of sheets on the plates 5 and 6 is limited by stops 13 and 14 eXtending upward adjacent to the outer edges of the respective stacks and preferably consisting of sheet-metal strips supported on brackets 15 and 16 bolted to the outer faces of the pedestals 3 and 4.

For transferring the slip sheets from the stack 9 to the stack 10 I employ a pipe 17 extending horizontally above said stacks and carrying one or more suction heads 18, the number of which will vary with the size of the sheets to be transferred. Each of these suction heads has an enlarged upper end which is perforated to receive the'piipe 17 and is split above the pipe and provided with a bolt 19 for drawing its two sides together, so that it can be tightly clamped on the pipe by screwing up said bolt. The enlarged lower ends of the heads 18 have their bottom faces located in the same plane and severally provided with an opening` leading to the hollow interior of the head, which is also in communication with the interior of the pipe 17 through a perforation 2O formed in the under side of said pipe.

The pipe 17 is carried by a swinging frame comprising a pair of upright arms 21 pivotally mounted at their lower ends on fixed studs 22 and having transversely-extending arms 23 pivoted to their upper ends, respectively, the ends of the pipe 17 being journaled in corresponding ends of the arms 23. Said pipe and thesuction heads thereon can thus be located over either of the stacks 9 and 10 and raised and lowered with respect to the same, and for swingingl the pipe back and forth over the stacks I employ two crank disks 24 and 25 secured to a continuously-rotated horizontal shaft 26 and each provided with an eccentric pin 27 carrying a slide block 28 which travels in a cam groove 29 formed in the corresponding arm 21, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The shaft 26 is jour naled in bearings 30 carried by an upright standard 31 secured to the base plate 2 between the pedestals 3 and 4, the disks 24 and 25 being secured to the outer ends of the shaft and located just inside of the correspendingarms 21.

The standard 31 also carries bearings 32 and 33 in which are journaled two other horizontal shafts 34 and 35, of which the shaft 34 is a rock shaft operated by means of abell crank 36 secured thereto and having one of its arms provided with a roller lo cated in a cam groove 37 cut in the inner face of the crank disk 24. The other arm of the bell crank 36 is duplicated at the 0pposite end of the rock shaft 34 by an arm 38 secured to said rock shaft, and said arm 38 and the bell crank 36 are utilized for simultaneously rocking the arms 23 and thereby raising and lowering the suction heads by means of connections comprising for each arm 23 a downwardly-extending rod 39 piv oted at its upper end to said arm and arranged to slide at its lower end in the hollow upper end of a rod 40, the two rods 40 being pivoted at their lower ends to the bell crank 36 and arm 38 respectively. A spring 41 surrounding eachrod 39 between a collar 42 secured thereto and a collar 43 clamped on the upper end of the rod 40 tends to force the rod 39 upward until a pin 44 carried by its lower end and movable in a slot 45 in the rod 40 abuts against the under side of the collar 43. This arrangement provides for a certain amount of lost motion `after the heads 18 strike the top of the stack 9.

The shaft 35 is also a rock shaft and is operated by means of an arm 46 secured thereto and provided with a roller 47 located in a cam groove 48 cut in the inner face of the crank disk 25, as shown in Figs. 5 and 8. This rock shaft is utilized for creating suction at the lower ends of the heads 18 through the agencyof a cylinder 49 having an open top and containing a piston 50, the piston rod 51 being pivotally connected to the outer end of an arm 52 secured to the rock shaft 35. In the construction illustrated the cylinder 49 is supported near its lower end by trunnions mounted in bearings 53 and 54, Fig. 8, one of which trunnions is hollow and rotates at its outer end on a pipe 557 the other end of which is connected by a flexible tube 56 to one end of the pipe 17. Thus when the piston is lifted it draws air through the pipe connections above described and creates suction through the heads 18, and for quickly relieving the suction at the proper' instant I provide a branch pipe 57 connected at its lower end to the pipe 55 and having at its upper end a valve 58 which is normally held closed by a spring 59. This valve is carried by one end of a lever 60 pivotally supported on a fixed bracket 61 secured to the pipe 57 and having its other end located in the path of an eccentric pin 62 carried by a disk 63 secured to the shaft 26, so that the valve is automatically opened once during each rotation of said shaft.

The parts above described operate as follows: Assuming that the suction heads 18 are located above the stack 10 and have de posited a slip sheet thereon, the rotation of the shaft 26 in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 6) swings the arms 21 to the left until the suction heads are located above the stack 9 near its right hand edge, whereupon the roller in the cam groove 37 is reached by that part of the groove which is shown at 64 in Fig. 6 Aand the rock shaft 34 is caused to lift the rods 39 and 40 until the bottom faces of the suction heads are pressed upon the uppermost sheet in the stack7 where they are held by the springs 41 during any excess up- .ward movement of the rods 40. Y During this movement of the'heads 18 they are brought into vertical position by means of a linkage comprising upright arms 65 and 66 vconnected at their upper ends by a link 67 and secured respectively to the pipe 17 and to a rearward extension of the pivot 68 on which the front arm 23 is mounted. When the suction heads reach the top of the stack 9 the piston 50 is near the bottom of the cylinder 49, and thereupon the rock shaft 35 is caused to liftsaid piston and the suction thus created at the lower ends of the heads 18 causes the topmost sheet in the stack to adhere thereto. The heads are then lifted by a downward movement of the rods 39 and 40, the topmost sheet being lifted with them, and thereupon the arms 21 swing theA suction heads yto the right and transfer the sheet to a position above the stack 10, the upward movement of the piston 50 being continued during the transferring of the sheet so as to maintain the suction exerted thereon by the heads. As soon as the arms 21 reach the limit of their movement to the right the pin 62 opens the valve 58 and breaks the suction, whereupon the sheet carried by the suction heads drops on the top of the stack 10, andthen said arms and heads perform their return movement in the opposite direction and the piston 50 moves to the bottom of the cylinder 49. During the return movement of the suction heads the pressman lays upon the top of the stack 10 either a single printed sheet or two sheets printed on one side only and placed back to back, as the case may bc, on which another sheet transferred from the stack 9 is deposited as above described.

Since the slip sheets in the stack 9 are sometimes so compactly piled that they tend to adhere to one another, in which case the suction heads 18 are liable to lift more than one sheet at once, it is desirable to provide means for slightly separating or loosening the sheets in said stack, and for this purpose I employ a blowing arrangement comprising a branch pipe 69 extending upward from the pipe 55 and connected by a flexible tube 7 to another pipe 71 having a laterally-facing head 72 with a vertical slit 73 therein, Fig.

7, which slit is located directly in front of and adjacent to the inner edge of the stack of sheets 9. Thus when the piston 50 moves downward it blows air through the slit 73 and against the edges of the sheets 9, whereby they are caused to separate sufficiently to prevent the topmost sheet from adhering to the one next below it.

In order to minimize the necessary upward and downward movements imparted to the suction heads 18 it is desirable to provide means for automatically raising the plate 7 in substantial correspondence with the diminution in height of the stack 9 supported thereby, and to this end the nut 11 is provided with a bevel gear 74 meshing with another bevel gear 7 5 secured to a horizontal shaft 76 which is journaled in a bracket 7 7 carried by the pedestal 3. On this shaft 7 6 is pivotally mounted an arm 78 provided with a gravity pawl 7 9 adapted to engage a ratchet wheel 80 secured to said shaft, the arrangement being such that when the arm 78 is lifted the nut 11 is rotated in such direction. as to raise the plate 7. For lifting said arm I provide a horizontal bar 81 secured at its ends to the collars 42 on the rods 39 and extending horizontally from front to back at such an elevation that when said rods 89 approach the limit of their movement to the left the bar 81 moves under the free end of the arm 78, which is lifted by said bar when the rods 39 move upward to depress the suction heads 18. When said rods 39 and bar 81 move to the right the arm 78 drops until arrested by a stop bolt 82 located beneath it, said stop being vertically adjustable in order to vary the rate of upward movement of the plate 7 according to the thickness of the slip sheets carried thereby.

A similar arrangement may be employed if desired for automatically lowering the plate 8 as the stack 10 is 'built up upon it, in which case the nut 12 is provided with a bevel gear 83 meshing with another bevel gear 84 secured to a horizontal shaft 85 which is journaled in a bracket 86 carried by the pedestal 4. The parts which rotate the shaft 85, consisting of the arm 87, pawl 88, ratchet wheel 89 and vertically-adjustable stop bolt 90, are constructed and operated in the same way as the corresponding parts 78,

79, 80 and 82 already described, except that the arm 87 has its free end curved upward and located at such a point that when the bar 81 moves to the right it acts as a cam on the upwardly-curved end of said arm and elevates it, vthereby rotating the nut 12 in lsuch direction as to lower the plate 8. The

front ends of the shafts 76 and 85 are each squared to receive the socket of a detachable crank or the like for the purpose of adjusting theV height of the plates 7 and 8 by hand when a stack of sheets is placed in or removed from the machine, and either ofthe mechanisms for automatically raising and lowering the respective plates may be rendered inoperative at any time, if desired, by merely throwing the corresponding pawl 79 or 88 over backward and allowing it to hang idleA while the arm which carries it moves upward and downward.

The shaft 26 is preferably driven by positive connections between it and a continuously-rotating element of the printing press with which my apparatus is used, so that both operate simultaneously and in synchronism. For this purpose I employ the driving mechanism illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 8, in which 91 indicates an upright standard secured to the baseplate 2 and having a horizontal shaft 92 journaled in its upper end, in axial alinement with the shaft shaft 92 as an axis the gear 97 can be moved upward or downward to correspond with the elevation oi" the gear 98, so that the two gears will mesh properly, any necessary horizontal adjustment being ell'ected by changing the position of the gear 98 on the shaft 99. After these gears have been properly adjusted the frame 94 is secured in tixed position by plates 100, Figs. 1 and 4, which are clamped upon the trame by means of screw bolts 101 passing through them and into the standard 91.

The continuous rotation imparted to the shaft 92 by the arrangement above described is transmitted to the shaft 26 by means of a hook 102, Figs. 2 and 8, which is carried by the outer end of a pin 103 passing eccentrically through the gear wheel 93 and normally engages a stud 104 formed on the outer end of the crank pin 27, and provision is made for stopping the sheet-transterring mechanism without affecting the operation of the press by sliding the pin 103 longitudinally in the gear wheel 93 and thereby removing' the hook 102 from the stud 104 in an endwise direction. For operating the pin 103 I provide a collar 105 mounted on the shaft 92 iimned'iately behind the gear wheel 93 and carrying a plate 106 to which the adjacent end of said pin is secured, as shown in Fig. 8, the collar 105 being shifted on the shaft 92 by means of a horizontal lever 107 pivotally mounted on the upper end of a liXed standard 10S and having a forked end which embraces said collar 105 and is provided with pins 109 entering a circumferential groove 110 in said collar. rlhe lever 107 is operated by means of a rod 111 connected thereto and extending forward to the front of the slreet-transferring mechanism, where it is provided with an operating handle 112. By pulling this handle forward the collar 105 and pin 103 are moved backward, thereby disengaging the hook 102 from the stud 104 and causing the sheettransferring mechanism to stop, and thereafter said hook is maintained in the position shown in Fig. 2 by means of a spring 113 attached to the hook and arranged to hold it against a stop pin 114. lVhen it is desired to start the sheet-transferring mechanism the handle 112 is pushed baclnvard, thereby moving the hook 102 forward into the plane occupied by the stud 104, with the result that as soon as the beveled front end of the hook reaches said stud it rides over the latter and thereupon the hook and stud are engaged by the action of the spring 113.

ln using my apparatus a stack of slip sheets is placed upon the plate 7 and adjusted vertically by hand until the topmost sheet in the stack is located at the proper height, the Vpawl 79 is thrown into engagement with the ratchet wheel 80, and then after starting the printing press the handle 112 is pushed backward and the sheet-transfer-ring mechanism operates automatically as already explained. lVhile the table 8 may be caused to descend automatically bymeans of the associated pawl and ratchet mechanism, if desired, this is not particularly important unless the slip sheets employed are substantially smaller than the printed sheets and have to be located within the margin ot the latter, in which case it is desirable to maintain the top of the stack 10 at substantially the level at which the successive slip sheets are deposited thereon in order to prevent edgewise move-ment of said sheets after being released by the suction heads 1S. lhen theprinted sheets and the slip sheets have approximately the same size the latter may be held at any point belowrthe tops of the strips 14 when released, since said strips will guide them into the proper position on the top of the stack 10, and in such case this stack may be built up on any suitable support, whether embodied in the sheet-t ansferring mechine or otherwise.

llhile the driving mechanism above described isthat which I prefer to employ for connecting the sheet-transferring mechanism to the printing press, it will be evident that various other arrangements may be employed for the same purpose, and also that the sheet-transferring mechanism itself may be modified in various ways without departing from my invention.

I claim:

1. An apparatus of the character de-V scribed, comprising means or supporting a stack of slip sheets and a. stack of interleaved slip sheets and printed sheets adjacent` to a printing press, mechanism for transferring the slip sheets one by one from one stack to the other, and means for operating the sheet-transferring mechanism in synchronism with the printing press.

2. An apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination with an element of a printing press, a support for a stack of slip sheets, a support for a stack of interleaved slip sheets and printed sheets, mechanism for transferring the slip sheets one by one from one stack to the other, connections between said element of the printing press and the sheet-transferring mechanism for driving the latter, andmeans for rendering the sheet-transferring mechanism inoperative without stopping the press.

3. An apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination with a continuously-driven element of a printing press, means for supporting a stack of slip sheets and a stack of interleaved slip sheets and printed sheets adjacent to said press, mechanism for transferring the slip sheets one by one from one stack to the other, and means for connecting the sheet-transferring mechanism to the continuously-driven element ofthe printing press and disconnecting it therefrom.

4. An apparatus of the character described, comprising in combination a continuously-rotated shaft constituting an element of a printing press, means for supporting astack of slip sheets and a stack of interleaved slip sheets and printed sheets adjacent to said press, mechanism for transferring the slip sheets one by one from one stack to the other, and a driving mechanism intermediate between said shaft and the sheet-transferring mechanism `and including a driving shaft, a countershaft adjustable concentrically with said driving shaft and geared thereto and to said continuously-rotated shaft, and means for connecting and disconnecting the driving shaft and the sheet-transferring mechanism.

5. An apparatus of the character described comprising, in combination with a continuously-driven element of a printing press, means for supportingaa stack of slip sheets and a stack of interleaved slip-sheets and printed sheets adjacent to said press, mechanism for transferring the slip sheets one by one from one stack tothe other and including` a driven shaft, a driving shaft journaled in axial alinement with said driven shaft and connected to the continuously-driven element of the press, eccentric hook and stud connections carried respectively by the driving and driven shafts, and means for engaging and disengaging said hook and stud connections.V

6. In a slip-sheeting machine, the combination of a support for a stack of slip sheets, a frame movable laterally toward and away from the same, one or more suction heads carried by said frame above the stack of sheets and movable upward and downward with respect to said stack, means for operating the frame and suction heads, and means for creating suction through said heads while in contact with the topmost sheet in the stack.

7. In a slip-sheeting machine, the combination of a support for a stack of slip sheets, a frame movable laterally toward and away from the same,"one or more suction heads carried by said frame above the stack of sheetsand movable upward and downward with respect to said stack, means for operating the frame and suction heads, a cylinder having a piston therein, means for reciprocating said piston, and pipe connections leading from the cylinder to the suction heads and to an opening facing one edge of the stack of slip sheets near the top of the stack, whereby said pump operates alternately to create suction through said heads and to blow air against the edges of the sheets.

- 8. In a slip-sheeting machine, the combination of a vertically-adjustable support for a stack of slip sheets, a frame movable laterally toward and away from the same, one or more suction heads carried by said frame above the stack of sheets and movable upward and downward with respect to said stack, means for operating said fra-me, means for raising and lowering the suction heads and for taking up lost motion after said heads come in contact with the top of the stack, means for creating suction through said heads, and means for automatically elevating said support as the stack diminishes in thickness.

9. In a slip-sheeting machine, the combination of a standard, an upright threaded rod movable upward and downward therein and carrying at its upper end a support for a stack of sheets, a nut mounted on said rod and supported by the standard, sheet-transferring mechanism movable toward and away from the top of said stack, a pawland-ratchet mechanism operative with the sheet-transferring mechanism for imparting a step-by-step rotation to said nut and thereby varying the elevation of said support as the stack varies in thickness, and supplementary means for `rotating said nut by hand and thereby adjusting the support vertically.

10. In a slip-sheeting machine, the combi-h nation of a support for a stack of slip sheets, a -sheet-transferring mechanism comprising one or more suction heads movable toward and away from the top of said stack, means for creating suction through said heads while in contact with the topmost sheet in the stack, and' means for breaking the suction after said sheet has been transferred by the heads.

11. In a slip-sheeting machine, a sheettransferring mechanism comprising a movable frame and one or more suction heads carried thereby, a suction cylinder having a piston therein, means for operating said piston, pipe connections leading from the cylinder to the suction heads and including an intermediate branch pipe, a valve normally closing the branch pipe, and means for opening said valve and thereby breaking the suction at said heads.

12. In a slip-sheeting machine, the combination of a support for a stack of slip sheets, sheet-transferring mechanism movable toward and away from the same and including one or more suction heads, a cylinder having a piston therein, pipe connections leading from the cylinder to the suction heads and including an intermediate branch pipe controlled by a normally-closed valve and another branch pipe terminating at an opening facing one edge of the stack of slip sheets, means for operating said piston, and means for operating said valve.

13. A slip-sheet machine comprising vertically-adjustable supports located side by side and adapted respectively to carry a stack of slip sheets and a stack of interleaved slip sheets and printed sheets, mechanism for transferring the slips sheets one by one from one stack to the other, and means operative with the sheet-transferring mechanism for automatically elevating the stack of slip sheets and loweringthe other stack as said stacks vary in thickness.

14. A slip-sheeting machine comprising two supports located side by side and adapted respectively to carry a stack of slip sheets and a stack of interleaved slip sheets and printed sheets, mechanism for transferring the slip sheets one by one from one stack to the other and including one or more suction heads, means for creating suction through said heads when in contact with the topmost sheet in the stack of slip sheets, and means for breaking the suction when said heads are located above the other stack.

15. A slip-sheeting machine comprising two supports located side by side and adapted respectively to carry a stack of slip sheets and a stack of interleaved slip sheets and printed sheets, a shaft and means for rotating the same in synchronism with a printing ress, a laterally-movable frame operated by said shaft and carrying one or more suction heads movable upward and downward above said stacks, means operated by said stack for raising and lowering said heads, means for creating suction through the heads, and pawl-and-ratchet mechanisms independently operated by said shaft for varying the elevation of said supports respectively. v

16. A slip-sheeting machineV comprising two supports located side by side and adapted respectively to carry a stack of slip sheets and a stack of interleaved slip sheets and printed sheets, a shaft and means for rotating the same in synchronism with a printing press, a laterally-movable frame operated by said shaft and carrying one or more suction heads movable upward and downward above said stacks, means operated by said shaft for raising and lowering said heads means for creating suction through theV heads, pawl-and-ratchet mechanisms independently operated by said shaft for varying the elevation of said supports respectively, and means for manually adjusting the height of cach support.

17. A-slip-sheeting machine comprising two supports located side by side and adapted respectively to carry a stack of slip sheets and a staclr of interleaved slip sheets and printed sheets, a shaft and means for driving the same in synchronism with a printing press, pivotally-mounted upright arms movable from lone stack to the other and each having a transversely-extending arm pivoted thereto, a pipe connecting the latter arms above said supports, one or more suction heads carried by said pipe and communicating with the interior thereof, means for creating suction through said pipe and heads, means carried by said shaft for oscillating said upright arms and for moving said suction heads upward and downward, and means operated by said shaft for automatically varying the elevation of said supports independently of each other.

Signed at Boston, Massachusetts, this eleventh day of February, 1916.

EDWIN' E. BARTLETT.

Copies of this npatent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G. 

